Make a Movie…

As much as we focus on international productions, we at Movie Jabber believe in local productions.  We believe Kenya has a lot to offer in that respect and soon, very very soon, with people like us (you and me) working together, the explosion of creativity, concepts, genres, acting etc will blow the world away and restructure the negative image of Africa to the outside world in media (whether news or films).

With that in mind, today we give focus to an article submitted by one Tony Koros on behalf of his production unit.  The following is in his own words.  Read through it and feel absolutely free to share it and if not at the least, get inspired 🙂

—->> “SPILLED” – MAKE A MOVIE WITH US!!

You know how when you watch a really awesome movie, you think, “I could do that!” or maybe, “I want to be in something like that.” Well, I thought both those things. So I decided to stop waiting around for someone to come and discover my ridiculously brilliant talent and just go ahead and make a movie. (Oh, I’m Tony.)

The thing is though, you can’t just “make” a movie. The people who do that end up producing great cinematic gems like, “Anaconda 2” or “Jackass”. I personally feel that unless you have a great story to tell there’s absolutely no point going to all the trouble. At the same time, I think it’s time we saw a Kenyan Jack Sparrow or an African “Dark Night”. And I think it’s possible. All we have to do is get up, write brilliant stories about our own people and then shoot and edit them. Right?

Wrong.

You could have the best scripter in the world; everyone could agree to work for free; you could even have fantastic actresses and top-notch camera guys. But no money to pay for their transport to get to set. Or for the one location you can’t do without. Or for the prop that gets broken in the middle of a take. Or for wardrobe. Or for make up. Or for lunch. Or for…

Its enough to make you want to give up. And in my mind, I’ve quit many many times. But I believe in this movie. Let me tell you a little about it:

— “Spilled” is the story of G; a good man – loyal, trusting, responsible. He walked into a job without signing a proper contract. He worked hard and faithfully only to get cheated out of two months pay. As anyone would, G wants to quit but if he does, his boss threatens to withhold his back-pay. Broke, G can’t pay his rent and it just so happens that the one person he has left in the world desperately needs to go to hospital. He would take her but he can barely afford to feed them as it is. At the same time, two prisoners are running a scam that promises to end all of G’s problems. They’ve snuck in a phone and manage to contact G. Just as they seem to be making headway though, they hit a snag of their own. They’ve run out of airtime. With little hope of success, they take one last drastic risk and the fall out is far worse than they’d anticipated.–

 “Spilled” is really a story about desperation. What happens when a good man is losing all he has? Is there a difference when a bad man is in the same position? Does good or bad have anything to do with it at that point?

 PURPOSE: The reason my team and I are making this film is because we’re tired of seeing stories about Africa making us look either like victims to be pitied or the ignorant few who need to be educated. There’s talk of AIDS/ poverty/ hunger/ war/ disease/ wildlife/ Joseph Kony/ corruption and slums. All these are important issues that need to be addressed but the African experience is so much more than that. There’s hope and joy and complexity and absurdity and the undeniable willpower to rise above difficult situations. We want to show this Africa. And you can too.

 BE INVOLVED: We’re raising funds for our project through crowdfunding which is basically allowing other people to be part of the project through making small donations. Anyone with a visa enabled ATM card can do this. Just follow this link: http://www.indiegogo.com/Spilled?a=439014 and follow the simple instructions.(It’s safe. I should know. I’ve got a lot riding on this.)

If you’re not able to give just now, we’d appreciate your help with spreading the word about our campaign. Twitter, facebook, google+, myspace, whatever. Send the link to this article to anyone you think would be interested in partnering with us. The more people here about us the better.

But as that happens, I hope you’ll be inspired to get your own genius movie going. Tell a great story. Tell it about your people because no one else will  <<—–

If you’re working on any production whatsoever, and you would like some help in getting the word out there, we as Movie Jabber are willing to do our part.  Feel free to email—> moviejabber@gmail.com 🙂

If you also have any news whatsoever regarding the local production scene, this platform welcomes it!  Feel free to email your article with some background to it and a pic attached to—> moviejabber@gmail.com

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